


One-Sentence Stories

by trustingHim17



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23993476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustingHim17/pseuds/trustingHim17
Summary: A collection of one-sentence story responses to various prompt tables. Non slash. ACD canon. Mostly angst. Some tie together, most don't. Most of these are up for adoption, just drop me a comment
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

  1. Murder



Holmes would never admit that Watson’s jest that Holmes was only happy when solving a murder was completely in error; Holmes was happiest when his biographer was nearby.

  1. Nightmare



Watson relived battles, and Holmes relived cases, but neither of them ever suspected Mrs. Hudson of having nightmares until her scream woke the house early one morning.

  1. Grief



With the empty house in Kensington having almost as many grief-filled memories as the alleyways of the city, it was only Holmes’ timely return that stopped Watson’s plan to move out of London.

  1. Late Nights



Whether due to a stakeout to catch a villain in the act or the violin solos of a bored detective, Watson had gotten more sleep _before_ he sold his practice than he ever did after.

  1. Breathe



Pulling his limp friend’s head above water, he struggled to keep them both breathing long enough for rescue to arrive.

  1. Shoot



Watson rarely aimed to kill, but when the choice was Holmes’ life or his attacker’s, there was no choice at all.

  1. Fire



Whether the garland on the mantle or the tree itself, Christmas with Holmes was never complete without something catching afire.

  1. Missing



After searching London for four days, Sherlock Holmes was beginning to wonder if his missing friend had left the city.

  1. Darkness



He started awake to the darkness of his bedroom, but the opening strains of _Lieder_ drifting through the floorboards convinced him to try returning to sleep.

  1. Light



In the fading late-evening light, Watson made a choice to accept an unspoken apology and try again.

  1. Choke



Holmes’ habit of eating near his chemistry set thankfully ended when he nearly choked on the cork that had fallen into his cup.

  1. Helpless



He had never felt more helpless as when the doctor told him there was nothing more they could do except wait.

  1. Negotiate



In trying to negotiate the intricacies of sharing a flat with a stranger, he found he had more in common with his flatmate than he had originally supposed.

  1. Blind



Considering how much he relied on his eyes to provide data from which to deduce, it was not the smallpox epidemic ravaging London he was wary of, so much as the possibility of blindness should he catch it.

  1. Haunt



The first night at Baker Street in three years showed them both that no ghosts need apply for a room to be haunted.

  1. Embrace



Holmes’ quick embrace when Watson returned from his second war showed the last years’ worry more than the immediate offer to come to Sussex; he knew Holmes despised all sorts of physical contact.

  1. Silent



Of all the flatmates he could have had, he was grateful his first—and only—possessed the gift of silence.

  1. Work



Holmes solved cases and Watson assisted around his few remaining patients, but they enjoyed these things too much to ever consider them work.

  1. Rescue



His head was pounding, and he was trapped in a root cellar when he came to, so when his attempts to loosen his bonds proved unfruitful, he resigned himself to waiting for rescue.

  1. Die



Three years after Switzerland, one was dead and the other was searching for a reason to live.

  1. Memory



Memories were fickle things: they could lie dormant for years before a chance happening released them to torment for a fortnight.

  1. War



It took years to learn how to deal with the memories of war, and, even then, it was only through the help of another that he laid them to rest.

  1. Faint



He could no longer claim to never have fainted, a fact which alternately annoyed him and delighted him, for different reasons.

  1. Trapped



He spent hours trying to pick the lock on his prison, but he had never mastered the picks the way Holmes had.

  1. Stab



He hit the ground, pain rippling through his midsection, and fought to control his breathing as the knowledge that he had been stabbed wormed its way through the pain.

  1. Blood



Holmes’ language was more suited to the dockworker of his previous disguise when, after dispatching the ruffians, he saw the growing pool of blood under his friend.

  1. Fight



Holmes had been hesitant at the beginning, but after seeing Watson’s rugby tackle, he no longer worried about Watson holding his own in a fight.

  1. Effort



The relief on his friend’s face was worth the effort it took to say the words.

  1. Exhaustion



Seventeen steps felt more like seventeen hundred after his rounds and a long vigil left him exhausted.

  1. Limp



As Holmes’ repertoire of disguises grew, Watson chuckled but said nothing when Holmes’ newest one acquired a limp that matched his own.

  1. Struggle



Struggling to string his thoughts together, it took much too long to recognize the effects of morphine, and even longer to remember that he hadn’t gone down first.

  1. Stranded 



As the _Freisland_ sank nearby, he eyed the sea between their rocky outcropping and the continent, wondering how long they would be stranded.

  1. Promise



He never made a promise he didn’t think he could keep, but that never meant he had to like it when a particularly descriptive article in the _Times_ forced him to keep a decades-old promise to Holmes.

  1. Fear



Focused more on the wildly fluctuating temperature in his room, he vaguely wondered whose fear-filled voice was demanding he answer.

  1. Swim



Supporting Holmes’ limp frame and knowing his shoulder wound made it nearly impossible to swim, Watson wondered how they would get out of this one.

  1. Danger



It wasn’t the first time he found himself in a fight, nor would it be the last, but he refused to let Holmes face the danger alone.

  1. Cemetery



Holmes learned a lesson about ill-timed pranks when he wound up with a black eye after startling his friend in a cemetery.

  1. Honour



Lestrade refused to believe the doctor could have had any part in Milverton’s demise, but he did wonder who else in this city could match the description he had been given.

  1. Love



Love came in many forms, and it was the love of a brother that helped him lay the old demons to rest.

  1. Cold



After over a year spent in Afghanistan, London’s cold seemed somehow worse than Scotland’s ever had.

  1. Time



Three years had changed the both of them, and it would take time to learn each other’s habits once again.

  1. Suffer



For one devoted to doctoring others’ suffering, Holmes never understood how Watson could have let his own health go so far in the previous three years.

  1. Beat



Waiting for Wiggins to call the closest bobbie off his beat was never so hard as when Holmes was the one distracting the vengeful prison-escapee in the sitting room.

  1. Cripple



It was only when Holmes found out just what he had said in their argument that he was able to voice anything close to the apology he had practiced for four days.

  1. Evil



It took years for Holmes to understand that Watson had willingly replaced a war started by diplomacy gone wrong with a battle against evil because, in the latter, he could actually make a difference.

  1. Battle



After over thirty years battling evil in London and another three convincing Watson to move to Sussex, Holmes was content to spend his time doing nothing more difficult than convincing his Boswell to help take care of the bees.

  1. Chivalry



After a long case wherein they rescued a woman from her (soon to be former) husband, Holmes was grateful Watson was nearby to prove that chivalry still lived.

  1. Drag



Dragging a wardrobe in front of the door, Watson could only hope Holmes found the passageway entry before their pursuers broke through that as well.

  1. Fall



The fall from the pier—and knowing that this was the end—hurt much less than the knowledge that he had just left Holmes to face three of the blackguards by himself.

  1. Hide



Thirteen years of hiding disappeared with the unfortunate mix of rising bread, an experiment, and a broken beaker.

  1. Loss



When news of his brother reached London while Holmes was on the continent, he was glad he wouldn’t have to explain that he had first and truly lost his brother many years before.

  1. Shiver



He noticed he had ceased shivering when he realized the pain it caused had disappeared, but he found it hard to listen to the voice in him chiming a warning over the illusion of warmth the lack of shivering provided.

  1. Support



The rattling noise was only the first warning that the mine’s supports were beginning to crumble.

  1. Lift



No one was more ready to be freed than Watson after being trapped in a lift for five hours with a pacing detective.

  1. Weak



The first time an inconsiderate constable made a comment about Watson’s “weak” leg was also the last, and the shiner he sported for the next week served as a reminder of what not to say around the detective.

  1. Grasp



He knew to be worried if ever he woke in hospital _without_ his hand grasped in another.

  1. Terror



He never thought to see the pure terror now in Holmes’ gaze, and he hoped he lived to never see it again.

  1. Mercy



Mercy-kill or not, the horse’s screams and the gunshot that silenced them echoed in his mind far longer than they had in the air.

  1. Crawl



Knowing his broken leg would prevent him from standing, he forced himself to crawl across their prison to check on his friend.

  1. Plead



No matter how much he pleaded, Holmes refused to leave his chemistry set on the gorgeously sunny day.

  1. Crack



When the crack in the ceiling appeared, he ignored it—until he woke one morning to find water dripping behind that crack.

  1. Drug



It was only after the drug threatened the life of another that he accepted the help to give it up for good.

  1. Flutter



Every vigil ended the same: with the flutter of eyelids.

  1. Suspicious



Only after they had been betrayed did he realize what he had found so suspicious.

  1. Clench



Forcing himself to unclench his jaw, he carefully tied the sutures in the first wound he had treated since Afghanistan.

  1. Relief



Holmes’ knees nearly buckled from the force of his relief, but he told himself it was because he had barely eaten in the last four days.

  1. Twist



Noticing how the inward twist of the inspector’s leg worsened on the wetter days, he wondered if all wounds reacted the same to the changes in weather.

  1. Sink



Desperately trying to escape the pull of the sinking ship, he refused to collapse until they had both made it to the rocky outcropping.

  1. Failure



When presented with a case involving a husband and wife who had disappeared simultaneously from opposite sides of the city, and two children’s explanation that defied the laws of physics, he was forced to write that strangest of cases off as a failure.

  1. Bitter



The bitterness rising in his voice was somehow better than the hollowness that had been there before.

  1. Stop



When insomnia conspired against them for the fifth night in a row, Watson and Mrs. Hudson worked together to make Holmes stop his violin solos, even if only for a single night.

  1. Crisis



Having dragged him out in an ice storm without realizing he was sick, he would never have forgiven himself if his friend hadn’t safely survived the crisis.

  1. Shame



Shame and grief tore through him in nearly equal parts as he shut the door to 221 Baker Street for the final time.

  1. Pain



Ignoring the pain of his injuries, he focused on getting them both back to where they had last seen the Yarders.

  1. Emotion



For one who so despised showing emotion, Holmes became good at finding ways to convince his Boswell to move to Sussex.

  1. Sick



Everyone knew the only thing worse than a sick doctor was a sick detective.

  1. Gallant



In spite of his words, the red tint on Holmes’ ears told Watson the truth of his reaction when one of their clients insisted he had acted gallantly.

  1. Horror



The horror that filled him upon hearing the remark was exceeded only by the sight of packed bags a year later.

  1. Desecrate



When they discovered what was going on behind the scenes of a rural temple ruin, Watson was quite willing to desecrate the ruin in such a way as to force the blackguards to show themselves.

  1. Enemy



Holmes always took it in stride when their enemy threatened him, but even Scotland Yard refused to press charges the time someone threatened Watson and received a black eye for his words.

  1. Whisper



The whisper barely carried to his ears, but he relaxed when he heard it because it meant rescue was nigh.

  1. Run



He had enjoyed running when he was younger, and it irked him that he could rarely do so now.

  1. Storm



Watson had always loved storms, but the first time Holmes started shooting in time to the thunder threatened to change that.

  1. Truth



The truth he would never admit was that he often enjoyed the quieter days.

  1. Anger



Watson’s double meaning behind his warning of keeping a ‘bull pup’ remained obscure for several years.

  1. Hero



Holmes knew his friend was a hero even without the medals from the war.

  1. Motionless



He was relieved when Holmes finally stopped moving, knowing the detective only twitched during nightmares.

  1. Wicked



Holmes’ insistence that Watson had played a wicked trick did nothing to calm the doctor’s laughter.

  1. Wound



Holmes learned quickly that words spoken in haste could wound more than a bullet ever could.

  1. Touch



After he and Holmes were imprisoned in a cave, Watson learned to pick locks in the dark.

  1. Slave



It was only when he tried to quit alone that he realized he was a slave to the drug.

  1. Trust



When he first moved to London, Holmes never expected to trust anyone again.

  1. Vicious



A miscommunication in a dark alley made Holmes resolve to never get in the way of Watson’s right hook.

  1. Incapacitate



He dreaded the day a villain realized it required the capture of a second person to incapacitate him.

  1. Weary



No matter how weary he was, he refused to seek his bed until Holmes returned from the docks safely.

  1. Author's Choice – Pawn



He considered himself a pawn—expendable—and only discovered much later that another considered him the king—the purpose behind the queen.

  1. Author's Choice – Aware



The first thing he became aware of was the pain; the second was the hand holding his own.

  1. Author's Choice – Mood



He was well accustomed to his own black moods, but to see his friend in the grips of one unnerved him.

  1. Author's Choice – Spirit



He smiled at the first show of spirit since his return, knowing it meant his Boswell was slowly releasing the barriers he had raised in the last three years.

  1. Author's Choice – Describe



For all that Holmes derided Watson’s writings aloud, he could admit to himself that he found the descriptions entertaining.


	2. Chapter 2

1\. Desperate

It was a desperate hope that had him scanning faces at the train station, and it was a pleasant surprise when he saw one he recognized.

2\. Angry

Knowing the term 'bull pup' referred to a revolver, Holmes found the term's other meaning several years later when Watson lost his temper in a big way for the first time.

3\. Exhausted

After a long day at his practice, he woke on the settee under a rug he didn't remember grabbing.

4\. Uneasy

Something about this case made him uneasy, but it took a comment from Watson to illuminate what that something was.

5\. Alone

If they were honest, both were afraid of the same thing: being alone.

6\. Bleeding

More focused on the fight, it was only when his head began to swim that he noticed he was bleeding.

7\. Haunted

Holmes noticed the haunted look in Watson's eyes when a reporter asked "what Mr. Holmes would have done" and resolved to banish it as quickly as possible.

8\. Helpless

He hated feeling helpless, but his leg refused to bear his weight another step.

9\. Dark

Being told the space had no light was much preferable to believing there was light but being unable to see it.

10\. Trapped

Berating himself once again for the trouble he had experienced learning to pick locks, he soon gave up hope of escaping and settled on hoping for rescue.

11\. Terrified

The child's terror upon finding herself with strangers was nothing compared to said strangers' befuddlement on finding a toddler on their doorstep.

12\. Sick

Holmes thought nothing of Watson choosing to sleep late one morning, only growing worried when luncheon drew near and the doctor still remained abed.

13\. Loathsome

When even Watson agreed that the woman was loathsome, Holmes knew he had a valid excuse to decline her party invitation.

14\. Freezing

Being stuck in a blizzard was disorienting and cold, but he was more worried that his friend had stopped answering his attempts at conversation.

15\. Burning

He faintly heard a voice say he was burning, but the way he was shivering showed that couldn't be right.

16\. Lonely

He had never imagined that an empty house could carry such a tangible loneliness.

17\. Heroic

Even the papers called his braving the flames to save his friend and their client "heroic" and "brave," but he refused to speak of it, not wanting to remember just how close that one had been.

18\. Guilty

If seeing the bowed posture and empty expression sent a ripple of grief through him, the hollowness in his friend's voice nearly tore him apart.

19\. Crippled

Maybe if he could convince someone else he wasn't crippled, he could convince himself.

20\. Missing

Watson had an infuriating knack to find any missing item in the disaster of the sitting room within five minutes of entering.

21\. Motionless

He expected to see his friend motionless beneath the broken window, but he couldn't decide whether to be worried or relieved when neither he nor the man who had tackled him were anywhere to be found.

22\. Filthy

He worried more about keeping them afloat than the filthy water's effect on an open wound—one thing at a time.

23\. Demented

He was kicking himself for not discerning the man's demented plan, because now his friend was paying for it.

24\. Bitter

Watson laughed heartily when his warning that the water was bitter went unheeded.

25\. Unconscious

Of all the things he had hoped to do after his return from a weekend's holiday, 'find Holmes unconscious on his bedroom floor' was definitely not one of them.

26\. Plead

It took a fair bit of pleading, and perhaps a small bit of blackmail, to prevent Lestrade spreading the word that Holmes' black eye had come from walking into a streetlamp in broad daylight.

27\. Flee

On escaping from the room he had been trapped in for four days, he didn't need to hear his abductors give chase to know to flee quietly.

28\. Hide

When a snowstorm kept them trapped for nearly a week, the only way he found to sufficiently occupy his flatmate was to hide his things—as many and as fast as he could.

29\. Sleep

When the epidemic ravaging London kept the doctor up for the third night in a row, Holmes resorted to drugging his tea to force him to get some rest.

30\. Wonder

It had taken him nearly two decades, but he finally managed to wrap Holmes' Christmas present in such a way that the detective was left wondering until Christmas morning.

31\. Clutch

Watson only admitted how long it had taken him to learn to drive after he could say that Holmes had taken far longer.

32\. Break

Teapots, teacups, and various bits of china broke nearly every day, but the first time Mrs. Hudson truly got angry was when Holmes broke a picture she was unable to replace.

33\. Destroy

During a rare case in western America, Holmes and Watson had the unfortunate chance to marvel at wind's power of destruction.

34\. Storm

The storm itself hadn't dropped all that much snow, but what had fallen melted and refroze so many times very few people were willing to go out in it.

35\. Leap

He hated having to rewrite it for publishing, but Watson had fallen even more in love with her when Mary proposed to _him_ on February 29th.

36\. Scream

If he had known the man was going to scream like that, he would have put a spider on the breakfast table years ago.

37\. Fall

He had no idea how many times he had watched his friend go over the falls in his dreams, nor did he know how many times he had gone over them himself.

38\. Slander

When the stumbling drunk came into Scotland Yard demanding they arrest "that insane detective" for assault, the Yarders sent him back out the door feeling glad he himself wasn't facing charges for slander and threats.

39\. Bind

He hated the feeling of suffocation that came with binding a rib fracture, and it was always a trial to keep the bandages on as long as they needed to be.

40\. Accuse

Deducing the culprit was one thing, but finding enough proof to formally accuse him was quite another.

41\. Experiment

As they grew more comfortable with each other, Holmes frequently found himself with an audience during his experiments.

42\. Shiver

Lestrade thought his shiver had been a result of cold, and he was content to let the Yarder be mistaken.

43\. Attack

Despite not expecting the attack, Watson quickly disabused Holmes of any notion that his shoulder prevented him from holding his own in a fight.

44\. Stumble

The wet cold set his leg to aching, and the ice complicated matters by refusing his stick purchase on the cobblestones.

45\. Lose

Even with a competitive streak wide enough to make him hate losing, he would play chess if it meant occupying his flatmate long enough to succeed in his goal.

46\. Defeat

The newspapers all called the battle a defeat, but only when he studied his flatmate did he learn just how costly that defeat had been.

47\. Fail

He had always hated failure, but he was never sure when the word had changed meanings from relating to the case to relating to his friend.

48\. Choke

After failing to free himself from the chokehold, his last thought was hoping Holmes remained uninjured.

49\. Murder

"So much for a quiet holiday," was his thought as Holmes led the way toward a murder investigation.

50\. Crawl

While thankfully not claustrophobic, his intense dislike of confined spaces did nothing to help him crawl through the low tunnel.

51\. Shackles

Ropes could be cut, and locks could be picked, but shackles were most bothersome to get off.

52\. Prison

When his distraction landed him in a cell for the night, he resolved to have a talk with Holmes about planning ahead.

53\. Alley

The Irregular led him through so many alleys before they reached the patient, he knew he had no chance of finding his way back on his own.

54\. Rope

When an evening was spent learning how to get out of bonds, the rope they had been using mysteriously disappeared the next day, as did the spare pair of handcuffs.

55\. Injection

The only positive he could see in their current predicament was if it inspired Holmes to give up the cocaine for good.

56\. Instrument

Holmes knew he loved music, but if he ever deduced what Watson's instrument had been, he wisely kept it to himself.

57\. Dog

After so many clients mistook his warning to Holmes at the beginning to refer to a canine 'bull pup,' he eventually stopped correcting them and started responding that he had given it away after it found the chemistry set.

58\. Horse

What irritated Holmes often amused Watson, and the day Holmes found out that Watson could ride better than him despite his wounds did nothing to change this.

59\. Snake

The first—and only—time Holmes ever saw Watson pick up a gun in his bedroom was also the day the snake that had escaped a local handler made it into their rooms.

60\. Bed

For the first week after Holmes' return, Watson slept on the settee more often than his bed.

61\. Poker

When Watson saw Holmes wield a poker at an intruder as skillfully as if it were a foil, he started keeping something else near his desk should another break-in occur.

62\. Acid

The same day Watson decided to begin ignoring the chemistry set in the hopes of curbing his interest, Holmes realized the need to label his various supplies.

63\. Target

Dark underground tunnels became so much worse when someone was shooting at them.

64\. Fire

He never hesitated to run into the burning house after his friend; he would rather go together than face life alone again.

65\. River

Rivers were great at throwing the bloodhounds off the scent, but they were not so good at preventing hypothermia.

66\. Water

A healthy body can last but three days without water—an injured one much less.

67\. Stone

It baffled Watson that people would go to such cruel lengths over a colorful rock.

68\. Iron

When Holmes found a scrap of iron, Watson returned that evening to see the scrap turning bright orange in the fireplace as his flatmate experimented with quenching mediums.

69\. Wood

The fight pushed him against the edge, and he could feel the wooden railing digging into his back as he fought to avoid going into the water.

70\. Bullet

Trying to stop the bleeding, he couldn't help hoping that the warning about living by the sword didn't apply to bullets as well.

71\. Dagger

Mrs. Hudson shocked her neighbors with the revelation that "of course" Doctor Watson had taught her to use a dagger, as if he would have done anything else after the intruder tried to use her against Mr. Holmes.

72\. Poison

For having no knowledge of practical gardening, Sherlock Holmes certainly knew his poisons.

73\. Rifle

He was unsure whether to be revolted or grateful; on the one hand, the bullet had given him his dearest friend, but on the other, its effects would remain with said friend the rest of his life.

74\. Club

Watson kept his club membership specifically for the nights that Holmes insisted on filling the flat with noxious fumes from his chemistry set.

75\. Whip

When he saw what the whip had done to his friend's back, he suddenly wished he had done a lot more to the villains before handing them over to the Yard.

76\. Late Nights

A late night on a stakeout had its positives, but the occasional results of those late nights never did.

77\. Snowstorm

When a snowstorm kept him from visiting on Christmas, he apparently wasn't the only one disappointed, as evidenced by Holmes' surprise arrival.

78\. Thunderstorm

Holmes' worry increased when the storm hit and Watson was late.

79\. House Fire

When the house up the street went up in flames, Lestrade should have expected to find Mr. Holmes and Doctor Watson in the middle of the chaos.

80\. Accident

Holmes' accidental flour explosion in the kitchen had two unfortunate results: his experiment was ruined and Mrs. Hudson raised his rent to cover the damage.

81\. Abduction

It had been a week since he had last seen his flatmate, and he was starting to wonder if they would ever find him.

82\. Falling

Holmes was the one who had gone over the falls, so why did Watson feel as if he was falling?

83\. Beating

The elation of finally beating Holmes at chess was tempered by the knowledge that he only managed it because Holmes was distracted.

84\. Dark Alley

The small hand in his own was the only way he would ever find the Irregular's headquarters on the other side of this dark alley.

85\. Exhaustion

He knew it was Holmes' habit to forego sleep during a case, but that didn't mean he condoned the state of exhaustion the detective always worked himself into.

86\. Death

The biggest difference between Holmes' and Mary's was that one had a body, so why had the irrational hope sprung to life after the elation of Holmes' return wore off?

87\. Revenge

Almost every intruder had revenge on the mind, but very few had the means to carry it out.

88\. Collapse

Upon regaining consciousness, the first thing he heard was his flatmate's voice admonishing him for ignoring an illness to the point of collapse.

89\. Knockout

He disliked boxing, but liking it had nothing to do with his ability to knock out his opponent.

90\. Self-defense

The guilt of taking a life, even in self-defense, was one of the more difficult guilts to ease.

91\. Defense of another

When Watson arrived home with scraped knuckles, he refused to admit whom he had hit and why; he flushed when Holmes easily deduced it and thanked him.

92\. Illness – contracted from patient

He woke three days later to Holmes by his bed asking him if he knew where and who he was.

93\. Illness – contracted during a case

The client refused to tell them the nature of the disease that had killed his relative until his flatmate didn't get out of bed one morning.

94\. Injury – Accidental

Very few things could scare their Irregulars, but seeing Doctor Watson slip on the ice after being hit with one of their snowballs was one of them.

95\. Injury – Intentional

It took Holmes until the next morning to realize the injury he had rendered while under the influence of his cocaine.

96\. Author's Choice – Active

After such an active youth, his convalescence galled him to the extreme.

97\. Author's Choice – Conductor

A stranger in the conductor's spot at a concert heralded the beginning of one of their more sporadic cases.

98\. Author's Choice – Mystery

There were times Watson thought that Holmes disliked eating because a mystery was all the sustenance he needed.

99\. Author's Choice – Bread

They never talked about it, but Watson knew why Mrs. Hudson stopped leaving her bread to rise downstairs.

100\. Author's Choice – Convenience

What started as a matter of financial convenience bloomed into a lifelong friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

  1. Strangers



At first, Mrs. Hudson thought it strange that her lodgers decided to room together without knowing each other first, but the two very quickly became inseparable.

  1. Taste



When trying to anchor himself in the present against his memories demanding attention, he always found the final thing the hardest to find, which was probably the point, as if he still needed grounding after the other four senses, naming something he could taste usually brought him out of the memory.

  1. Sea



Watson remembered very little of the immediate aftermath of the _Friesland_ sinking.

  1. Rain



His wounds hated the storms, voicing their complaints with throbbing timed to the raindrops, but Watson had always loved the freshness of a recent rain.

  1. Earth



No matter how many times he withdrew into his thoughts, the presence of his friend brought him back to earth.

  1. Affection



Her actions around Doctor Watson’s wedding showed the depth of Mrs. Hudson’s motherly affection for her lodgers.

  1. Joy



The pure joy that washed over his expression had not yet been tempered by the knowledge that his friend had lied to him—again.

  1. Moon



The full moon rising over the moor illuminated their worrisome circumstances better than any lantern.

  1. Autumn



Autumn had always been Mary’s favorite time of year; a second spring, she called it, where every leaf was a flower.

  1. Run



The frantic admonishment to run held the key to despair when he realized he ran alone.

  1. Breakfast



It took Holmes years to explain to Watson that he rarely ate before midmorning not because he didn’t want the food, but because the food didn’t want him.

  1. Black



It had been so long since he drank it any way but black that he nearly choked the first time he drank a swallow of coffee after his Hiatus.

  1. Found



Seven days, six hours, and fifty-one minutes of searching collapsed when he finally spotted his friend in the depths of the cave.

  1. Children



Sometimes the sight of frolicking children in a nearby park brought a smile to Watson’s face, but other times it only reminded him of the children he had lost.

  1. Broken



Knowing the results of his actions, being confined to bedrest due to a broken leg seemed a small price to pay.

  1. Villain



When the intruder grabbed the morocco case off the mantle, Watson knew this might be their final case.

  1. Respect



The doctor earned the Yarders’ respect the day he identified and captured a burglar before the inspector assigned to the case had finished combing the scene.

  1. Food



Mrs. Hudson proved herself extremely creative in the kitchen in those early days as she tried to tempt the doctor’s scant appetite.

  1. Winter



Winter may have truly begun in November, but caught up in the holiday, Watson rarely noticed until after the New Year.

  1. Spirit



Their lack of belief in ghosts made no difference when a miniature tornado of papers, books, and other debris formed in the guestroom in a manner perfectly matching the castle legends.

  1. Sound



Having been so long since he had been able to play, the sound of Holmes’ violin alternately soothed and frustrated him.

  1. Touch



He tugged and worked until his fingers bled, but loosening bonds by feel was never easy.

  1. Love



Watson chided himself for envying Holmes his brother, but that didn’t change the fact that he had lost his own without the closure of death many years before.

  1. Birth



The joy of their blessings cascaded into a heavy grief when Mary succumbed to the grief of losing the twins in their first days of life.

  1. Hours



Hours passed slowly in front of that fireplace, each content in the presence of the other.

  1. Friends



It was years before he was able to define who the doctor was to him, and then only when a slip of the tongue produced a slow smile and the knowledge of truth.

  1. Extreme



Irritability to boredom to hyperactivity—his new flatmate was a study in extremes.

  1. Not enough



Those children never had an excess of food, but working for the detective had resulted in them having enough.

  1. Middles



Being woken in the middle of a nightmare was always preferable to waking alone.

  1. Years



When two young bachelors met in St. Bart’s chemistry lab, neither of them recognized the beginnings of a friendship that would span the years.

  1. Time



Punctuality was harder before the gift of a repaired pocket watch.

  1. Teammates



From the rugby field to battle—whether foreign or domestic—Waton’s loyalty was unmatched.

  1. Shore



By the time they reached shore, they could do nothing more than lay in the sand and be grateful.

  1. Nightmare



For once, he was glad for the nightmare, because that meant the vision of his friend bending over him was the real one.

  1. Light



The light spilling from the sitting room showed he was not the only one having a sleepless night.

  1. White



Finding a white horse with a single red hoof solved their murder case rather succinctly.

  1. Fixed



With the leaking roof fixed, now all that remained was to repair the water damage.

  1. Hide



Their longest stakeout in a while was the one in which they were forced to hide the following day.

  1. Death



Papers and tabloids alike proclaimed that the detective had solved the greatest mystery of all—death. 

  1. Enemies



It was years before he understood the reasoning behind the personal nature of that enemy’s malice.

  1. Faith



Holmes would come for him; all he had to do was survive until then.

  1. Hate



In the two years since he had last heard from his friend, he had never hated his increasing age more than when Mycroft told him Holmes had missed a check-in.

  1. Smell



Talc or chalk, horses and river, every city had its own scent, and he had travelled enough to know roughly where he was before he opened his eyes.

  1. Fire



There was little better after a long walk through a snowstorm than relaxing with a warming drink in front of the fire.

  1. Quest



Not sleep nor food could pause the detective’s quest for information.

  1. Beginnings



He had called him “my intimate friend and colleague,” but from where had the phrase come?

  1. Bittersweet



Upon finding the broken teacup he had hidden just before leaving for Switzerland, her laugh sounded more like a sob.

  1. Summer



Long summer days spent watching the bees were only made better by the presence of a friend.

  1. Tease



Listening to the young Irregulars bicker and tease each other was more therapeutic than any medicine the doctor could prescribe.

  1. Thunder



After listening to Watson reminisce, Holmes figured out how to play his violin to the beat of nature’s drums.

  1. Memory



A head injury could negatively affect memory retention; he desperately hoped it wasn’t permanent.

  1. Sight



The crime scene was gruesome enough even the doctor flinched.

  1. Shy



Shy or not, the lost young girl found herself willing to talk to the kind doctor.

  1. Triumph



Where was the triumph with a casualty list measured in the hundred thousands?

  1. Purple



Even the detective was surprised by the arrival of the letter with a purple border.

  1. Star



He never needed a compass so long as he could see the stars.

  1. Journey



It would take time, but their next journey had begun with that single step.

  1. Sixth sense



Holmes relied completely on deduction, but after that first time, he never had to understand Watson’s ability to know that if the doctor said they needed to leave, they needed to leave immediately.

  1. Lovers



It took Mary backing him up before the stubborn detective realized his friend was not abandoning him for marriage.

  1. Fear



For the longest time, he truly believed his friend was afraid of nothing.

  1. Too much



Through the pounding in his head the next morning, he firmly resolved that the first time he had had too much to drink would also be the last.

  1. Sunrise



The dawn light shining through the windows showed the truth better than any well-spoken words could.

  1. Sorrow



He started for home the day he got the news, knowing he was months too late to make it for the funeral.

  1. Sunset



Watching the winter sun sink over the sea, he was glad to not be watching it alone.

  1. Red



His favorite color changed with his first day of medical school, and again after the Battle of Maiwand.

  1. Whisper



Barely a whisper, he still heard and went to rescue his friend from the most recent round of nightmares.

  1. Lies



Their biggest arguments were usually caused by lies.

  1. Snow



Watson thought it beautiful, and Holmes thought it an annoyance, but the Irregulars always found it great fun.

  1. Truth



To tell the truth, even when it might hurt, was one of the hardest lessons to learn.

  1. Dark



The gaslights were off—a concession to the heat—but that didn’t prevent them from sitting in companionable silence on another sleepless night.

  1. Trust



Neither was quite sure when or how, but they both knew they trusted the other completely.

  1. Spring



Holmes finally agreed to go for a walk, if only to get him to stop with the wordplay he had been using to interrupt Holmes’ monologues.

  1. Water



It was quite a change to go from loving to swim to having to avoid deep water. 

  1. Temptation



The locked drawer soon became the repository of all temptations.

  1. Weeks



The most common bet had been in terms of weeks, but even Holmes was surprised when months turned into years without a change in living arrangements.

  1. Lightning



After the case had revived the worst of his memories, Watson wasn’t sure if he enjoyed the storm for providing a show to watch or hated the storm for the thunder’s similarity to gunfire.

  1. Months



It was a relief to return to Baker Street after a case kept them abroad for over two months.

  1. Dinner



Holmes’ acceptance of the invitation to their first dinner party was a pleasant surprise for Watson.

  1. Ends



Holmes so often gave all the credit to the Yard partly because he despised the tediousness of tying up the loose ends of a case.

  1. Lunch



Watson’s busy day suddenly looked brighter when he got a note asking if he wanted to meet at Simpson’s at noon.

  1. Drink



Watson very rarely touched the alcohol; his brother’s mistakes remained firmly in his mind.

  1. Grief



After knowing intense grief at a young age, he determined to never go through that again and, in the process, unknowingly closed himself off to many other things.

  1. Blue



His smile widened when he realized Mary had swiped her “something blue” from Holmes’ side of the sitting room.

  1. Tears



When Watson was in the right mood, one pawky remark could set them laughing to tears.

  1. Shade



Whenever London received one of its rare sunny days, Watson spent as much time as possible outside.

  1. Anger



His ‘bull pup’ had its peculiarities; it rarely broke free, but Holmes quickly learned to back up if it did.

  1. Hero



When the Irregulars first found out that Doctor Watson was a war hero, they begged him to tell stories, and, ever truthful even in his admittedly vague accounts, the young ones quickly learned that no war was as glorious as the papers made it out to be.

  1. Storm



The storm pounding London found itself outmatched in comparison to the storm currently ravaging 221B Baker Street.

  1. Parents



He had lost his parents to an accident, but that was better than never knowing them at all.

  1. Life



It had turned out far from how he had planned, but, looking back over the years, he knew he wouldn’t change a single thing.

  1. Play



He loved listening to Holmes play, except at three in the morning for the fourth night in a row.

  1. Guilt



When he realized the note was a fake and Holmes was gone, he thought his guilt might just swallow him whole.

  1. Family



Neither had many blood relations remaining, but they each found a brother in the other, and that was enough.

  1. Tradition



He almost managed to hide a birthday surprise under the guise of a Twelfth Night tradition.

  1. Distance



The gaping divide that had seemed to separate them proved to be no more than a crack when back in the other’s presence once more.

  1. Author’s Choice – Lost



When they passed the tree they had marked for the third time, his companion was forced to admit they were lost.

  1. Author’s Choice – Freedom



He had been among the first to volunteer, but the wounds he had hidden during the initial exams betrayed him during the first months of training.

  1. Author’s Choice – Days



Holmes knew exactly how many days it had been since Watson had enlisted; he spent more time wondering how many it would be before he came home.

  1. Author’s Choice – Air



With the air quickly turning stale, he could only hope he was found in time.

  1. Author’s Choice – Cottage



The only difference was that one had an extra bedroom, but that was the deciding factor.


	4. Chapter 4

  1. Finger



Holmes could be such a child at times, as evidenced by the day he spent laughing over the new insult he had learned down at the docks.

  1. Bad



Watson well knew that the world of crime had lost its star player when Holmes decided to work for law enforcement instead of against them.

  1. Intelligence



The primary source of Holmes’ derision of Watson’s stories was the sight of an intelligent, capable partner reduced to a gullible foil.

  1. Announce



Upon hearing Holmes announce his decision to retire, Watson felt his heart drop; he was years from retirement, himself.

  1. Day



Homes’ excitement was evident the day he knew Watson would arrive in Sussex, bags in tow.

  1. Murder



Holmes’ decision stunned Watson the day Holmes accompanied him on an impromptu trip to the cemetery instead of pursuing a murder case Lestrade had offered.

  1. Sad



The presence of his friend was enough to make even the worst days bearable.

  1. Plan



Their plan fell apart when the other four men appeared from the shadows.

  1. Ill



He knew he would fall ill if he continued like this, but what did it matter when he was alone?

  1. Secret



There were very few things he _tried_ to hide from Holmes, but that had been one of them, and he braced himself for the ridicule.

  1. Behind



Caught in a circle of darkness, the normally soothing music starting behind him only recalled all he had lost, and he left the room, unable to listen.

  1. Want



If asked, he would have responded that the only thing he wanted was a reason to continue.

  1. Stranded



The rainwater he found in a crack was far from clean, but it was water, and it would buy them more time.

  1. Wealthy



The wealthy clients were often the most pompous, but occasionally their generosity made up for that.

  1. Marriage



Holmes had never realized how solitude could grate until the day after Watson’s wedding.

  1. Affected



“I had no idea you would be so affected,” he had said, and Watson had to remind himself that Holmes could not have known he would grieve.

  1. Long Hours



After a long day of patients, the last thing Watson had been hoping for was Holmes barging into his room at midnight to announce they had a case.

  1. Worthy



It was when Holmes called Moriarty a “worthy adversary” that the first tendrils of dread grabbed hold of Watson.

  1. Sinful



Music filled the flat after a harrowing case involving several young children, neither able to sleep from the sheer horror at what some people would sink to.

  1. Motivated



Just when he thought he would collapse, a gunshot behind him granted a second wind.

  1. Escape



He had wandered through the cave system for hours, searching for the exit, only for his injuries to catch up with him one cavern away from daylight.

  1. Punch



Watson’s right hook was distinctive enough that Holmes could identify it simply by the pattern of bruising around the recipient’s eye.

  1. Self-conscious



He had never felt more self-conscious as when he tried to find his words in the wake of a proposal.

  1. Kiss



He would do many things to aid in Holmes’ disguises, but kissing the man disguised in a wedding dress was not one of them.

  1. Graveyard



The first time they spent the night in a graveyard, he had been amused; the second time, irritated, but by the third time, he made it very clear that there would not be a fourth.

  1. Mistake



The Yard need not know that a mistake, not a deduction, had solved the murder.

  1. Guard



He shared his parents with only one other, but it was not that brother that insisted on guarding his back during a case.

  1. Flight



The news headlined every paper; the American Wright brothers had built a device that enabled flight.

  1. Caught



The sneezing filling the sitting room showed that the criminal was not the only thing that had been caught in the rainstorm the night before.

  1. Drama



After hours spent listening to the woman speak only in hyperbole, they welcomed the silence.

  1. Rescue



He would forever hold that he had not needed rescue, but he was grateful for the timely intervention anyway—if only because it prevented the Yarder who was having trouble closing his mouth from having an eye swell shut.

  1. Haunted



For one that had always derided any mention of ghosts, Holmes seemed to understand and accept, “my room is haunted,” as an adequate reason for sleeping on the settee the first week after his return.

  1. Attentive



His friend was never more attentive than when they waited on a stakeout.

  1. Honour



Honorable was a matter of opinion, but he would never describe battle as anything but ugly.

  1. Notice



He doubted his flatmate would even notice his absence.

  1. Hit



He smirked at the challenge; the young man in front of him had obviously not been paying attention to the last few rounds.

  1. Walk



It took everything in him to rein in his temper and walk away.

  1. Defenseless



The first time they were jumped in an alley showed Holmes the doctor’s defensive capabilities.

  1. Blackout



They were far from town; it should not have surprised him that the curtains intended for the windows ended up scattered around the cottage in various states of disrepair.

  1. Slip



It was merely a slip of the tongue, but the phrase would stay with them for years.

  1. Wrong



The rare mistake at least had the benefit of proving the detective was human, no matter how superhuman he tried to portray himself.

  1. Luck



Neither of them believed in luck; there was only one reason they had escaped that night.

  1. Strong



After years of traveling, the truest example of strength was in London all along.

  1. Nonsense



Like two brothers, were her boys, and she shook her head as another round of bickering carried through the door.

  1. Ashamed



The cutting words only confirmed the knowledge that he had failed to find the information they needed.

  1. Complain



He did not have to complain for Holmes to know when the scars were bothering him.

  1. Swear



Despite the Strand’s portrayal, the detective rarely outright lied, and then never without good reason.

  1. Discover



Discovering a tooth swimming in his coffee was not the most pleasant way to start the day.

  1. Assist



While he doubted at times whether the assistance he rendered was of any real use, nothing gave him more pleasure than to help in Holmes’ cases.

  1. Breathe



The virus sweeping through London attacked the lungs, his mind supplied when he returned home to hear a deep, hacking cough filling the flat.

  1. Burn



The pawky remark came at just the right moment, and Holmes nearly laughed as the belligerent man stuttered before storming away.

  1. Crisis



He breathed a sigh of relief when the fever final broke; his friend had survived the crisis.

  1. Administer



Trying to convince his flatmate to take the medicine was harder than dosing a toddler—toddlers did not usually talk while they struggled.

  1. Awkward



There were few things more awkward than the day Lestrade walked in on a nearly silent argument in the sitting room.

  1. Complicated



Holmes stormed away in frustration, telling him not to worry about it if it was that complicated, and Watson turned back to his book, grinning faintly at the silence.

  1. Grin



The slowly spreading grin was all the thanks he needed for the hassle of searching the city for the near-trinket his friend had mentioned in passing.

  1. Reveal



He enjoyed few things more than the surprise that crossed his friend’s face with every new deduction.

  1. Strange



Stamford was right; his new flatmate was rather strange.

  1. Declare



The declaration was followed by a moment of silence, and he cracked open an eye to see confusion in that gaze.

  1. Memorable



With such an unusual personality, every day was memorable in some manner.

  1. Lose



He was quite willing to lose another round of chess if it would keep the dust from falling off the syringe.

  1. Shame



He sighed as the detective stormed out; so much for trying to help.

  1. Switch



Their costumes were rather good, if Lestrade’s double take was any indication.

  1. Passage



After a pickpocket resulted in his ticket going missing, he thought he would have to wait a few more days before he could buy another.

  1. Corrupt



With the recent incidents corrupting his thoughts, he decided a walk would be preferable to an argument.

  1. Splatter



Holmes may be the detective, but Watson had done enough work for the Yard to correctly identify every type of splatter and its cause.

  1. Obvious



He struggled to remember that what was obvious to him was usually dim at best to anyone else.

  1. Anniversary



In the year since his return from Afghanistan, there had been many fights, many injuries, and many criminals, but he would not trade a moment of it for the world.

  1. Faint



He nearly missed it amidst the chaos, but he quickly followed the faint voice leading to his friend.

  1. Daffodil



He focused on the flower swaying in the breeze; there had been no such color in his memories.

  1. Investigate



The Yarder’s expression was almost comical when Holmes announced they needed to investigate the café down the street, but Watson merely chuckled.

  1. Antiquity



Watson found him examining the relics Mycroft had finally sent, but the doctor’s interest was piqued when he realized the relics were better described as heirlooms.

  1. Fleet



He may not be fleet of foot, but the doctor could move quickly when the situation warranted.

  1. Birthday



After discovering his friend’s birthday quite by accident, his attempts to make it pleasant at least made it memorable.

  1. Help



His pride would not allow him to ask for help in climbing the stairs.

  1. Monument



Footsteps joined him in front of the statue, but silence reigned as he stared at what easily could have carried his own name as well.

  1. Rain



If nothing else, his old injuries provided an accurate warning of incoming storms.

  1. Amble



There were few things he liked more than a leisurely stroll through the park, but a leisurely stroll with his friend was one of them.

  1. Motion



He tore his gaze away and refocused on his book; watching Holmes pace was growing dizzying.

  1. Cool



The cool fingers on his hand anchored him more than the words begging him to stay awake.

  1. Young



He smiled wryly at the thought—he had not been much older the first time he went to battle.

  1. Last



It was not the first time one of them had returned slightly the worse for wear, nor would it be the last.

  1. Wrong



If the Yard got wind of this, he would never live it down.

  1. Gentle



He hated doctors with a passion, but this one’s hands were uncommonly gentle.

  1. One



It was strange seeing him walking down the street alone, Mrs. Hudson thought.

  1. Thousand



He did not need to look at the numbers to know that his friend was literally one in a thousand.

  1. King



Maybe he would win by default if the piece remained lost long enough.

  1. Learn



It took years, but he slowly succeeded in teaching Holmes some tact.

  1. Blur



The station nearly passed in a blur, and he pressed himself against the window, trying to spot the figure he had glimpsed that had looked so familiar.

  1. Wait



He replied only a moment later, but the wait had felt like ages.

  1. Change



He had known the ex-soldier for barely six months, and already the man was changing him.

  1. Command



He found himself obeying before the commanding words had fully registered in his mind.

  1. Hold



He quickly handed the squalling infant to the new mother, ignoring his own longing in the face of his duty.

  1. Need



It took a close call in a case before the stubborn detective began acknowledging his need for food.

  1. Vision



As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the smirk on his friend’s face, but the second was the blood.

  1. Attention



He was convinced that some of Holmes’ more eccentric behaviors were purely an attempt to draw attention.

  1. Soul



If after returning from his rounds, he was surprised at Holmes’ subdued manner, then the suggestion of a holiday outside of London absolutely stunned him.

  1. Picture



Three years later, Watson finally realized where and why that picture had disappeared.

  1. Fool



He may grow accustomed to being duped by Holmes’ many disguises, but their intricacy never failed to intrigue him.

  1. Mad



Upon hearing the row currently shaking Baker Street, the inspector made the wise decision to keep walking.


	5. Chapter 5

  1. Child



When the young girl fell asleep in the doctor’s arms, Holmes could only frown that fate had denied his friend even the possibility of children.

  1. Now



The Irregulars quickly learned which tasks were urgent and which could wait until they had begged a treat from Mrs. Hudson.

  1. Shadow



A shadow and a whisper of movement were his only warnings.

  1. Goodbye



They stood silently at the station, each hoping that this goodbye would not be final.

  1. Hide



That keen gaze could hardly fail to note the man trying to hide in the bushes nearby, but it was the doctor that called the warning.

  1. Fortune



He would never be rich, he thought as he left the Irregular’s headquarters, but he would rather be useful than rich any day.

  1. Safe



The door locked behind them, and he finally relaxed.

  1. Ghost



He knew better, of course, but that knowledge did not make spending another night in an eerie graveyard any better.

  1. Book



He could think of no better way to spend a quiet evening than with a book by the fire.

  1. Eye



There was nothing wrong with his eyes, but something was wrong with his eyes.

  1. Never



For all his eccentricities and despite his lack of social niceties, there were some things even he would never do.

  1. Sing



The voice captivated him, and he wished they had the time to sit and listen.

  1. Sudden



He barely avoided colliding with the oblivious detective when his friend stopped in the middle of the path.

  1. Stop



Only after a very specific retribution did some of the derisive comments taper off.

  1. Time



It was the one thing of which they never had enough.

  1. Wash



The Irregulars’ idea of a wash involved a heavy rainstorm and a full gutter.

  1. Torn



His flatmate received a lesson on not touching someone else’s things the day he returned to find a damaged book.

  1. History



One day, she wanted a friendship like theirs—one containing so much history they could speak with looks and gestures.

  1. Power



Contacts high in the British government became useful after a less-than-legal information gathering went slightly off plan.

  1. Brother



Blood relation was not a prerequisite for that bond.

  1. God



Neither were particularly religious, but nor were they able to deny the instinct to pray when something went wrong.

  1. Wall



Just because he made it over the first wall did not mean he was willing to jump the second unless absolutely necessary.

  1. Naked



For one that so rarely showed any sort of emotion, it was surprisingly easy to read the relief in his gaze.

  1. Drive



There were days she was sure she would end up in Bedlam, but there were other days she struggled to fathom how she had lived without her lodgers.

  1. Harm



In the aftermath of an intruder, he was forced to acknowledge that his preferred method of escape might not be as harmless as he had thought.

  1. Precious



Time eventually dulled the ache of grief to a fond nostalgia.

  1. Hunger



He ignored the hunger twisting his stomach; there was no time to eat.

  1. Believe



If his friend believed it, so did everyone else; he used that concept frequently.

  1. Ring



Within a day, he felt sure the telephone in the kitchen would drive him mad.

  1. Hero



His friend flushed the first time someone described him thus, but Holmes merely grinned.

  1. Memory



It took years, but eventually he learned how to remember without falling through time.

  1. Box



Watson laughed when the stray kitten not only bolted inside before he could stop her, but then proceeded to make herself comfortable in one of the many boxes Holmes had left lying about the room.

  1. Run



A chase of a mile or more would not result in the painfully slow pace his friend set climbing the stairs.

  1. Hurricane



When on a case—and sometimes when not—the sitting room frequently looked as if a windstorm had swept through it, tossing papers, files, and books haphazardly around the room.

  1. Wings



Watson would go along with almost anything, but he dreaded the day Holmes decided he needed to test the wings he was designing; there was no way they would ever work.

  1. Cold



Very few ever saw the true warmth hidden in the stoic detective.

  1. Red



When his friend could not find the words to speak, the tips of his ears often spoke for him.

  1. Drink



After placing a drink in the trembling hand, he gently placed the fallen telegram on the nearby table.

  1. Midnight



It happened many times, but only twice a year did he willingly stay up to see in the new day.

  1. Temptation



Even with a key, sometimes the presence of the lock was a strong enough deterrent.

  1. View



The view from his room almost dissolved his irritation at the train’s cancellation.

  1. Music



He relaxed as the voice carried through the floorboards; he would be free shortly.

  1. Silk



After the third day of listening to Holmes monologue about a caterpillar, Watson decided an evening at his club was a fine idea.

  1. Cover



When he obeyed the order to run, he had not expected the volley of gunfire to sound behind him.

  1. Promise



He would forever be willing to aid in the keeping of such a promise.

  1. Dream



He fought to leave the sitting room, needing to prove to himself that it had been a dream, not a memory.

  1. Candle



The light flickered and died, but he was too deep in thought to notice.

  1. Talent



His futile efforts to learn proved that his friend’s ability was built more on talent than study.

  1. Silence



For the first time in a week, he could hear nothing from the room above.

  1. Journey



The first step had been taken; they would finish together.

  1. Fire



A blast followed the command, and he jerked awake as the pictures rattled on the walls.

  1. Strength



He might not be able to bend an iron poker, but he refused to let his friend fall.

  1. Mask



His friend had used one since before they met, but he did not build his own until the long, lonely months after the third death in as many years.

  1. Ice



Somehow—without him even realizing it—his flatmate had become his dearest friend.

  1. Fall



He breathed a sigh of relief, grateful beyond words that he would see another season at the cottage.

  1. Forgotten



Despite his claims to the contrary, the detective’s “brain-attic” was not infallible.

  1. Dance



He did not know his friend could dance until the wedding.

  1. Body



They waited for hours, but he didn’t care; dream or no, he would do anything to have his dearest friend back—including try not to get caught staring while sitting in a room on the top floor of an abandoned house.

  1. Sacred



The vows he had taken did not require him to abandon his friend; now if he could only convince his friend of that.

  1. Farewells



Slowly, time and action showed the detective that “I do” was not the same as “goodbye.”

  1. World



Three years of travel showed him the true meaning of home.

  1. Formal



Even Mycroft never knew why they habitually used last names.

  1. Fever



One had been working himself feverishly, and the other had been treating the fever running through the city, but neither of them was the one that did not get out of bed one morning.

  1. Laugh



It was a rare victory to make his stoic friend truly laugh, though it did become more frequent as time went on.

  1. Lies



His friend was too honest to lie, so why did that statement ring untrue?

  1. Forever



Only when the published cases were still popular decades after their publishing did he realize the gift his friend had given him.

  1. Overwhelmed



She stared in silence, wondering if she had finally gone mad.

  1. Whisper



Even a whisper was deafening when one could communicate with a glance.

  1. Wait



Few things were harder than waiting for news.

  1. Talk



Travel taught him the necessity of the spoken word—at least in certain topics and times.

  1. Search



His search had taken him through most of London and the surrounding cities, but the reaction was worth it.

  1. Hope



After nearly a week, he was beginning to wonder if they would ever find him.

  1. Eclipse



Even the detective was speechless when they happened to be in the right place at the right time to see a rare solar eclipse.

  1. Gravity



Of all the things Holmes tried to test, Watson was grateful gravity was not among that number.

  1. Highway



The fastest travel felt like walking when all he wanted—needed—was to know his friend was alright.

  1. Unknown



The unpredictable was always the most dangerous.

  1. Lock



He was sure that after this incident, he would find himself forced to practice picking locks rather more frequently.

  1. Breathe



He coughed, desperately trying to draw a full breath through the heaviness in his chest.

  1. Anniversary



He was sick the first year, and he tried to close himself in his room the second, but Holmes breathed a faint sigh of relief when the third year after Mary’s death, Watson not only willingly came down to the sitting room, but spoke more than he had in days.

  1. New Year’s



He would have preferred to toast the new year from their normal place by the fire, but he should have known better to think they would be able to do that _every_ year.

  1. Halloween



He had grown up treating the last day of October as a day of pranks just like the first of April, but apparently Holmes had _not_ , judging by the confusion contained in that surprised stare.

  1. Firsts



On a hot day in July, it was not until he happened to glance at a calendar just after noon that he understood why his flatmate has been out all day.

  1. Middles



Holmes still refused to eat during a case, but detouring past a café on the way to the witness’ house was at least a start.

  1. Lasts



If only it did not take something drastic to change the stubborn detective’s mind, Watson thought.

  1. Nostalgia



Years passed before he could look at that watch with nostalgia.

  1. Rendezvous



“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he hurried towards his friend, “but you will never believe who I ran into on the way here.”

  1. Death



His return trip from Switzerland passed in a haze, and the weeks following were hardly any clearer.

  1. Life



Slowly, the old spark rekindled in his friend’s eyes.

  1. Birthday



His lockpicking skills were put to the test in his search for his friend’s birthday.

  1. Wedding



Mary only laughed at the disruption; she had known all along what to expect.

  1. Spring



Major events tended to happen in the spring, he noticed, so the news, while certainly unwelcome, was no great surprise.

  1. Summer



Of all the years he had lived in the cottage, that summer was the longest.

  1. Fall



When the cooler weather forced him to retreat indoors, he found ample diversion in watching his new flatmate.

  1. Winter



London did not often get snow, but he thought he might prefer the snow to the ubiquitous, cold rain that seemed to permeate everything with a wet chill.

  1. Morning



His east-facing window would have ensured his early rising even if his time in the military did not.

  1. Afternoon



The sun reached its zenith and started to sink, and still word had not come.

  1. Evening



It was disconcerting just how quickly that had hit.

  1. Rebuild



Of all he had imagined that he would do after he returned, “regaining trust” was not one of them.

  1. Visit



More than once, subterfuge had been required to prevent Watson from returning to London too quickly.

  1. Student



He continually tried to learn his friend’s methods, never knowing just how much his friend learned from him.


End file.
